Guwahati: The central government would ship 50,000 tonnes of onions from its buffer stock to Guwahati in order to keep prices under control. This was said by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
Guwahati has slightly higher onion retail prices than the national average.
The ministry also wrote to other state governments and union territories advising them to purchase onions from the centre in case of need for Rs. 18.13 per kilograms as there are several cities where prices are slightly higher.
Notably, the centre had acquired 2.5 tonnes of onions from farmers in July in order to build up buffer stockpiles for the years 2022–2023. These buffer stockpiles are intended to be sold in regions and cities where vegetable costs are rising.
Onion production is predicted to have increased from 26.65 million tonnes to 31.70 million tonnes in 2021–22, according to official data.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) bought rabi harvest onions from farmers in the vegetable-growing regions of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).